Ralph Lauren apologizes for Native American ads

By Sarah LeTrent, CNN

updated 11:37 AM EST, Fri December 19, 2014

Ralph Lauren's holiday ad campaign for its RRL line is being criticized for its "assimilation aesthetic" that features what appear to be antique photos of stoic Native Americans dressed in Western attire.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Ralph Lauren has removed the 2014 holiday ads from its site

Ralph Lauren used images of Native Americans wearing its fashions in ads

Critics say the images capitalize on the traumatic period of Native American assimilation

The hashtag #BoycottRalphLauren highlighted opposition to ads

Editor's note: This article has been updated with a statement from Ralph Lauren.

(CNN) -- Ralph Lauren's 2014 holiday ad campaign for its RRL line was raked over the coals on social media this weekfor its "assimilation aesthetic," featuring what appear to be antique photos of stoic Native Americans dressed in Western attire.

Now, the company is apologizing for the imagery and has since removed the images from its website.

"Ralph Lauren has a longstanding history in celebrating the rich history, importance and beauty of our country's Native American heritage," the company said in a statement. "We recognize that some of the images depicted in the RRL look book may have caused offense and we have removed them from our website."

This week in colonial propaganda masquerading as history, we have Ralph Lauren with the genocide aesthetic pic.twitter.com/kQXGY8bd01

Ruth Hopkins, a contributor to the site Last Real Indians, took issue with the campaign's use of Native Americans, claiming that the imagery is not only ignorant, it's a harsh reminder of a time of extreme oppression, and even genocide, for the nation's indigenous people.

"What many people alive today fail to realize is Natives of the Assimilation Era wore western clothes because they were forced to do so," she wrote.

The policy of cultural assimilation of Native Americans spanned roughly from the 1800s midway into the 20th century as a way to "Americanize" indigenous people through forced English education, sending children away to boarding schools and banning tribal religious traditions. Some policies were enforced through threat of violence.